China will have a major leadership change soon when the current leaders , President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao , bow out . In the post-Mao era , Chinese leadership change and power transition have become institutionalized and more predictable . That 's until the somewhat unexpected Bo Xilai affair .

Although the sacking of the Chongqing leader -- in the wake of a murder investigation that implicated him and his wife -- revealed the startling degree of widespread corruption and abuse of power among high-ranking leaders , it also exposed the intense struggle among various ideologies of China 's leaders and intellectual elites .

This is somewhat unprecedented . After three decades of reforms , China 's social economic landscape has been transformed . Short-term and long-term problems and challenges abound . While addressing such problems as inflation , the asset bubble , corruption and increasingly daring expressions of public discontent , China 's leaders and intellectual elites are also searching for long-term legitimacy .

The challenge has become more pressing , as Chinese society gets wealthier and more restless after three decades of rapid economic and social change . China is in urgent need of a soul , a set of dominant ideas , as the efficacy of the Chinese Communist Party 's official ideology -- emphasizing `` harmonious society '' and `` scientific development '' -- diminishes .

Despite the Party 's calls to `` speak with one voice , '' dissenting ideas and differences are being voiced and heard . Unlike the simple dichotomy of reformers and conservatives during the 1980s and early 1990s , today 's sets of views on China 's problems and its future have become more sophisticated and complex .

The increasingly intense debate now appears to have three strands : the neoliberal reformers who seek to liberalize the economic and political arenas and reverse the recent expansion of the state ; the neo-Maoists who argue for strengthening the state and breaking what they see as a `` state capitalist '' alliance between the rich and the powerful ; and the neo-Confucian traditionalists who bemoan the loss of a moral compass in a modernizing society and want to rekindle China 's soft power in the world .

Dominating the debates and ideological clashes are the neoliberals and the neo-Maoists who occupy the leadership , while neo-Confucians , popular as they may be among some common folk and patriotic youths , have yet to find their strong advocates among top leaders .

Why you ca n't expect easy answers with new leadership

In a symbolic example of neo-Confucians ' inability to gain ground , a giant Confucius statue was removed last year some 100 days after it was unveiled in front of the newly reopened National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square . The statue 's appearance in such a prominent location caused an uproar among neoliberals , neo-Maoists and the intellectual elite .

In the competition for dominant ideas , Confucius -- whose school of thought has been touted as a call for Pax Cina -LRB- `` Chinese peace '' -RRB- -- lost in the gigantic square that is bookended by Mao 's iconic portrait and his mausoleum . -LRB- The statue now resides in the museum 's sculpture garden , ostensibly for esthetic reconsiderations . -RRB-

The implications of this ideological debate are enormous and will likely determine the future of China .

The neo-liberals hold the free market and democracy to be universally applicable and deny the uniqueness of the Chinese experience . Their power base is Guangdong Province , where market reforms first served as a pilot test for the nation three decades ago . The provincial Party Secretary , Wang Yang , tipped for promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee , is widely regarded as a daring leader , willing to promote changes based on the market and open society principles .

Pursuing the notion of `` fairness and justice , '' officials like Wang have won the backing of Beijing for emphasizing opportunities for the weak and underprivileged . Unlike leaders like Bo Xilai who used iron-fisted measures when dealing with social discontent , Wang has a reputation for listening to netizens , including their criticisms of the government . It is not surprising that some of the most liberal news media are based in his province .

On the other hand , Bo , who had been a contender for the Standing Committee until his downfall , had been known for advocating Maoist tactics , including mass rallies and anticrime campaigns to counter problems like organized crime and corruption .

His programs provided neo-Maoists , who oppose `` westernization '' and are critical of state-capitalist market reforms , with a rallying call for `` common wealth and equality '' at a time China is facing a widening wealth gap .

In a subtle rejection of the `` fairness and justice '' advocated by neoliberals , the neo-Maoists see the state as a beneficial force and the market as an evil one . To them , China is unique and can not be remade into the West ; they reject the idea of a universal model of development . Bo 's `` Chongqing experiment '' provided China 's neo-Maoists with a set of ideas that could compete against the neoliberals ' advocacy of the market and democracy .

Charming and media savvy , Bo had populist appeal that garnered local support , but a seeming return to the `` redness '' of the Maoist era caused a certain unease among Party officials , particularly liberal-bent elders .

His downfall has put neo-Maoists on the retreat , but there are signs they are ready to become vocal , as the new leaders take over .

Read about Bo being under criminal investigation

Behind the façade of unity that the Party has emphasized is a struggle not just for leadership positions but of ideas . This struggle will affect major policy decision making , including political reforms .

It is still too early to predict who will get into the top governing body of the Communist Party . But ideological orientation will surely be one of the considerations in the jockeying for power . As Hu 's 10-year term comes to an end , his cautious and above-the-fray approach to economic reforms and ideological debates may have come to an end as well .

The question is , will any of these disparate sets of ideas be accepted by Hu 's expected successor as Party chief , Xi Jinping ? His ideological orientations remain unclear , and he may not have an easy time walking a middle path and continuing a mishmash `` mainstream '' ideology by not choosing sides . How he and other key leaders take up stands in this struggle for ideological dominance will be immensely important for China and its direction in the next decade .

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Despite Party 's calls to `` speak with one voice , '' dissenting ideas , differences being voiced

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Lu : Dominating the debates are the neoliberals and neo-Maoists who occupy the leadership

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Neo-liberals see free market , democracy as universal ; Wang Yang represents them , Lu says

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Bo , tipped for Standing Committee until his fall , neo-Maoists touted `` common wealth ''